Jean A. Chalmers
COVC Jean A. Chalmers Award
In 1947, Mrs. Jean A. Chalmers founded and became the first president of the Canadian Opera Women's Committee, which today is known as the Canadian Opera Volunteer Committee. In 1989, in honour of her special interest in and commitment to young people, her family made a special gift of $100,000 to the Committee to be used to assist young, trained, Canadian singers in career development and to be awarded to a promising young Canadian singer at open competition. The first award was presented to Kathleen Brett in 1991 at the Glory of Mozart International Festival in Toronto, organized by Nicholas Goldschmidt, another pioneer of opera in Toronto.
The COVC Jean A. Chalmers Award is now presented to a promising young Canadian singer at both national and international open competitions which have been approved by the board of directors. These competitions have included The Montreal International Music Competition, Eckhardt-Gramatté National Competition and The CBC Radio Canada National Competition. To date almost $90,000 has been awarded to help young singers.
Previous COVC Jean A. Chalmers Award winners have included Karina Gauvin (1992), Anita Krause (1994), Measha Brueggergosman (2002) and Peter McGillivray (2003 and 2005). This year's award competition took place at the Montreal International Music Competition in Montreal, Quebec from May 18 - 28, 2009. This year's recipient of the 2009 COVC Jean A. Chalmers award was Yannick-Muriel Noah. For information and photographs of this year's event, click here.
National and international competitions are invited to apply for prizes for Canadian competitors.
Since its inception in 1991, the recipients of the COVC Jean A. Chalmers Award have been:
|
YEAR |
COMPETITION |
AWARD RECIPIENT
|
| 1991 | Glory of Mozart International Festival, Toronto | Kathleen Brett Campbell River, BC |
| 1992 | The National Vocal Competition at Guelph Spring Festival |
Karina Gauvin
Montreal, Quebec
|
| 1993 | The Montreal International Music Competition | Avalee Beckman Bracebridge, Ontario |
| 1994 |
The Women's Musical Club of Toronto - Voice Competition |
Anita Krause Vancouver, BC |
| 1998 | Ontario Finals, Vocal, The Candian Music Competition | Karen Wierzba Mississauga, Ontario |
| 1999 | C.B.C. Radio Canada National Competition for Young Performers |
Christina Tannous
Quebec City, Quebec
|
| 1999 | Ontario Finals - Vocal, The Candian Music Competition |
Othalie Graham
Brampton, Ontario
|
| 2002 | Jeunesses Musicales International Competition - Voice, Montreal |
Measha Brueggergosman
Fredericton, New Brunswick
|
| 2003 | C.B.C. Radio Canada National Competition for Young Performers |
Peter McGillivray
Toronto, Ontario
|
| 2005 | Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition |
Layla Claire
Kelowna, British Columbia
|
| 2005 | Montreal International Music Competition - Voice |
Peter McGillivray
Toronto, Ontario
|
| 2007 | Montreal International Music Competition - Voice |
Marianne Fiset
Quebec City, Quebec
|
| 2008 | Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition |
Kristin Mueller-Heaslip
Toronto, Ontario
|
| 2009 | Montreal International Music Competition - Voice |
Yannic-Muriel Noah
Toronto, Ontario
|
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